Rajon Rondo returned to the starting lineup Friday Night after missing the Celtics last three games and added 14 assists to propel Boston over the Toronto 110-101, avenging their loss earlier this week at the hands of the Raptors.
Rajon Rondo did show a little rust shooting wise, as he only managed four total points in his 36 minutes of play. Rondo however set a milestone Friday night as he passed John Havlicek with 93 games with at least 10 assists in a game, making him third on the list behind Larry Bird, and Bob Cousy, whose record of 249 games with 10+ assists still stands.
Kevin Garnett had an impressive showing as he scored a season-high 26 points and collected 11 rebounds. Garnett had previously struggled in his last few games, as he only managed 8 points in Boston's 89-83 win over New Jersey on Wednesday.
Following his 25-point performance against the Nets, Shaquille O'Neal had another dominant performance as he added 16 points and 9 rebounds. O'Neal still continues to surprise the Celtics as the 38-year old has shown father time hasn't caught up to him yet.
Paul Pierce and Ray Allen got back on track Friday night, as Pierce was able to score 18 points while Allen managed 17 points. Pierce played 39 minutes for the Celtics on 5 of 12 shooting from the field. Allen saw the most minutes for the Celtics Friday as he played 43 minutes including shooting 3 of 6 from the three point line, his best three point percentage in his last few games.
For the Raptors, their attack was quite balanced as the bench led by Leandro Barbosa with 14 points and Linas Kleiza with a team-high 18 points. Jose Calderon recorded another double-double, as he contributed 12 points with 15 assists. Peja Stojakovic had a good night for his new team as he scored 13 points including 3 of 4 from the three point line. Stojakovic was involved in a trade between the Raptors and New Orleans Hornets which sent Stojakovic to Toronto in exchange for the well-traveled point guard Jarrett Jack.
Andrea Barganani, whom the Celtics could not contain in their last meeting was only limited to 12 points and eight rebounds. Barganani led all scorers with 26 points in their last meeting earlier this week.
The real story tonight was the clear domination up front for the Celtics, as it has been for the past few games. Kevin Garnett put up a great performance for the Celtics tonight, and Head Coach Doc Rivers was very impressed about what he saw from his team's vocal leader.
"Kevin's energy tonight was off the charts, and you knew it would be, if you know Kevin, because the last time we played them the guy in his position had a pretty good game," Rivers said. "That's just Kevin Garnett."